First Foundation (FFWM) Competitors

First Foundation (NYSE:FFWM) and Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability and media sentiment.

Does the media refer more to FFWM or CLBK?

In the previous week, First Foundation and First Foundation both had 1 articles in the media. Columbia Financial's average media sentiment score of 0.00 beat First Foundation's score of -0.72 indicating that Columbia Financial is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
First Foundation	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Negative
Columbia Financial	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do analysts prefer FFWM or CLBK?

Columbia Financial has a consensus target price of $16.00, suggesting a potential upside of 11.65%. Given Columbia Financial's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Columbia Financial is more favorable than First Foundation.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Foundation	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00
Columbia Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Which has better earnings and valuation, FFWM or CLBK?

Columbia Financial has lower revenue, but higher earnings than First Foundation. First Foundation is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Columbia Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Foundation	$545.12M	0.74	-$92.41M	-$1.41	-3.49
Columbia Financial	$489.17M	3.07	-$11.65M	$0.06	238.83

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of FFWM or CLBK?

73.1% of First Foundation shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 12.7% of Columbia Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 9.5% of First Foundation shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.4% of Columbia Financial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Is FFWM or CLBK more profitable?

Columbia Financial has a net margin of 1.24% compared to First Foundation's net margin of -15.29%. Columbia Financial's return on equity of 3.61% beat First Foundation's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Foundation	-15.29%	-1.20%	-0.09%
Columbia Financial	1.24%	3.61%	0.37%

Which has more volatility & risk, FFWM or CLBK?

First Foundation has a beta of 1, suggesting that its stock price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.Comparatively, Columbia Financial has a beta of 0.25, suggesting that its stock price is 75% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Columbia Financial beats First Foundation on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.